Two Belarusian military helicopters reportedly entered NATO airspace
Two Belarusian military helicopters reportedly entered NATO airspace on Tuesday during military exercises. The Polish Defence Ministry announced it would increase the number of troops on its eastern border in response, Sky News reports.
In a statement, the Polish Defence Ministry says the two Belarusian helicopters were training near the border when they crossed into Polish airspace. "The border crossing took place in the Bialowieza region at a very low altitude, which makes it difficult for radar systems to detect," it added, Sky News reports.
Bialowieza is a small village home to just over 2,000 people, located less than a kilometre from the Poland-Belarus border.
Warsaw has summoned the Belarusian ambassador to explain the incident, the source said.
The Belarusian defence ministry denies accusations of invading Polish airspace, describing them as "exaggerated". In a post on Telegram, the ministry claims that "the accusations are made by the Polish military and political leadership to justify the reinforcement of forces on the border with Belarus," according to Digi24.ro.
More than 1,000 Polish soldiers were deployed to the border with Belarus last week after Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin began training troops in Belarus.
Poland said it had informed NATO about the incident.
The US said today that it sees no sign of a threat from the Wagner group, now based almost entirely in Belarus, to Poland or any other NATO country.
